Vijayawada: War over pension disbursal in AP

Vijayawada : As the political heat is increasing with ‘Memu Siddham’ bus yatra of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and TDP’s Prajagalam by party chief N Chandrababu Naidu and both the parties are vying with each other in leveling allegations against each other.

The latest issue that has now become the focal point of campaign is regarding the distribution of social pension at the doorsteps of the beneficiaries by the volunteers of village secretariat.

The Election Commission of India which felt that the YSRCP was using the volunteers for party propaganda issued orders on March 30, 2024 saying that the volunteers should not go to distribute pensions at the doorsteps of the beneficiaries and instead government employees should be used for the purpose. This triggered a political war between the YSRCP and TDP.

Jagan Mohan Reddy during his campaign has been alleging that the TDP and the Opposition alliance was responsible for the old and disabled suffer as in April they did not get their pensions on the first day of the month. He said a former State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar on the directions of Naidu had complained to the ECI and had created roadblocks in the distribution of pensions.

What was worse was that on Wednesday, the YSRCP activists in some places carried old people on cots to the village secretariats and made them wait there in the hot sun. Terming this as “cheap drama,’ the TDP on Wednesday showing copies of the GO issued by SERP CEO said that the government on March 29 announced that that pensions would be distributed from April 3 due to financial year ending and bank holidays. In fact, a similar GO was issued on March 29, 2023, as well, the TDP said. Chandrababu Naidu in his Prajagalam public meeting questioned as to how the government could blame them when it had issued a GO on March 29 saying pensions would be given form April 3.

He said the Election Commission’s orders asking not to use volunteers came on March 30 a day after the GO. He said he had never seen any CM stooping to such a low level of campaign.

The TDP questioned the government as to what prevented them from using Asha workers to distribute pensions. Social pensions are not a new scheme introduced by this government. It has been on for decades and all successive governments have been giving pensions, he added.